Miami (USA), May 1 (IANS) Sahith Theegala delivered a strong opening round to position himself inside the top 10 at the Cadillac Championship, while Akshay Bhatia also made an encouraging start at Trump National Doral’s demanding ‘Blue Monster’ course.

Theegala fired a 3-under 69 to finish tied-ninth after round one, four shots behind leader Cameron Young, who set the pace with a flawless 8-under 64 at the $20 million event. Bhatia carded a 2-under 70 to be tied-15th, while Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju opened with a 74 to sit tied-52nd.

Theegala began aggressively, picking up three birdies within his first five holes to quickly climb the leaderboard. Although his momentum slowed mid-round, he maintained composure to stay under par. His card included birdies on the par-4 second, par-3 third, and par-4 fifth, followed later by gains on the par-5 10th and par-3 15th.

Dropped shots on the 11th and 13th holes prevented a lower score, but the 69 keeps him firmly in contention as he looks for his first win of the season, having already recorded four top-10 finishes this year.

Bhatia, meanwhile, appeared set for a top-10 position before a costly mistake on the final hole. Standing at 3-under through 17 holes, he found water off the tee on the 18th, leading to a bogey that pushed him back into a tie for 15th.

At the top of the leaderboard, Young produced a bogey-free round highlighted by precise iron play and a hot putter, rolling in several lengthy birdie putts. He holds a one-shot advantage over Jordan Spieth and Alex Smalley, both at 7-under. Spieth’s round featured an eagle on the par-5 eighth, offsetting a couple of back-nine bogeys.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had a mixed day, starting brightly with three early birdies before slipping back with consecutive bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes to finish at 1-under.

Canada’s Nick Taylor sits fourth at 6-under 66, while Nico Echavarria, a winner earlier this season at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, opened with a 67. Gary Woodland is also within striking distance after a 68.

Theegala will tee off his second round on Friday alongside Taylor Pendrith as he aims to build on a promising start.

–IANS

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